Chapter One
The black Winnebago eased to a stop in the parking lot at the rear of the Wal-Mart Supercenter. It was 3:05 am in Alexandria, VA, so the store was closed and the parking lot was empty, save for a few employee vehicles by the loading dock.
Three black Suburbans established a perimeter between the motor home and the expanse of the empty lot.
It was an odd sight. First of all, you don’t see many all black Winnebago Vectras on the highways. And to see one stopped in the most distant part of a Wal-Mart parking lot at 3 am, flanked by three black SUVs painted a really surreal picture. It warrants a “WTF?”
A muffled “chop-chop-chop-chop” barely gave away the two black RAH-66 Comanche helicopters flying covering circles over the vicinity – keeping a stealthy watch over things.
Inside, the hoods over their heads came off, one-by-one, and the duct tape stripped from their mouths – quickly, wordlessly, painfully.
Bawney Fwank was the first to react, “What the cwap is going on here?” “Why were we kidnapped?” “Where the [bleep] are we?” “Do you know who I am?”
“I know, Mr. Frank.”
The voice was obviously scrambled; it sounded oddly metallic and couldn’t even be identified as male or female. It simply came from a dark area at the back of the Winnebago.
With no lights on inside, the only illumination filtering in was from the parking lot and that didn’t help his vision much.
As Fwank’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he was surprised to see Speaker Pelosi to his left, rubbing her eyes. To his right, Senator Harry Reid was rising to his feet looking somewhat frightened by the night’s activities so far. “Who are you and why are we here,” he asked; his voice cracking.
“You are all my guests for the next hour, so sit down and listen to what I’m saying and you’ll soon be returned to your homes.”
“You can’t do this – I demand that you return us to our homes and turn yourself in to the police.” Madame Speaker was obviously outraged. She was showing more cajones than Senator Reid who, by this time, was sporting a widening wet spot in his crotchal area.
“If you are uncooperative, I’ll have you restrained” the voice said calmly, matter-of-factly.
Two very large, sumo-wrestler-sized men stepped from the shadows and grunted their agreement with the voice. They were dressed in black with KKK-style hoods and were indeed a fearsome sight – dark giants eagerly anticipating an opportunity to mash the congress-hoes into a$$-butter.
“Wight, we-we-we’ll co-co-cowopawate,” said Bawney Fwank, whose sphincter had puckered enough by now to suck part of his pajamas up into never-land. “There’s no need for viowence.”
The voice said: ”I want you to pass a bill. I’ve written the bill for you. You’ll be given a copy when you leave … do you understand?”
“You can’t do that, we’re members of Congress and we take direction from no one.” Speaker Pelosi was not smart enough to know when to be intimidated.
“Madame Speaker, you already take direction from the auto unions, the teacher’s unions, the trial lawyers, ACORN, moveon.org, and others, I’m just adding our organization to that very long list.”
“And what gwoup is that?” Bawney Fwank finally lispthed.
“We are ANUS”
In spite of their grim situation, Reid and Frank both managed stifled laugher. Senator Reid regained his voice enough to ask “Anus? Like butthole?”
The giant on the left, moving silently and swiftly, grabbed the Senator, turned him around, and lifted him up three feet by his pajama bottoms, giving him a testicular wedgie. “Ahhhhhh ohhhhhh noooooo.” The lift left the Senator with all of his weight painfully supported on his two little beans. To say the least – IT HURT. He squealed like a pre-teen girl. The giant jerked him up a few more times to be sure that the Senator understood that he was helpless and then dropped him to the floor.
The Senator immediately assumed a fetal position (thumb in mouth) and began sobbing.
“Did you say something Senator Reid?”
Reid managed to stammer, between sobs, “I’m s-s-s-sorry, I didn’t m-m-mean anyth-th-thing by it.”
“See here – I don’t know who you are but you cannot kidnap members of Congress and treat us like that,” fumed Speaker Pelosi.” “I’ll have your head for this. I’ll have you water-boarded.”
There was a flash from the darkness on the right. Wires glistened as they uncoiled in the split-second the barbs took to reach the Speaker. The Taser’s barbs entered her midsection and transferred 50,000 volts into her body. She barely took a breath before she fell to the floor, writhing, moaning, and jerking uncontrollably.
“You should learn to keep your mouth shut, Madame Speaker.” “Representative Frank, have you anything to add?”
“No, I’m good.”
“The bill will support a new union; American Nationals United for Socialism (ANUS). But we must remain in the background.”
“But we’re aweady on your side – we’re moving wapidly to enact thubstanthal impwovemenths for unions – unions own us.” Frank was the only one in any shape to converse (if that’s what his butchering of the language could be called).
Senator Reid was on the floor, still shaking and sucking his thumb. He was now surrounded by a glistening wet spot.
“You will now listen … Senator Reid, are you listening?”
“Yyyyessss, sir.”
“Madame Speaker, do you hear me – do you understand?”
Between occasional involuntary tremors, Pelosi replied, “Uhhh yyyy uhhh yyyyesss.”
“Good. I represent a faction that is not satisfied with the pace of your activities. There is growing dissatisfaction with your casual approach. We therefore will force a more rapid conversion to Socialism. We have already visited several of your peers and have received assurances that they will support our cause.”
“You mean other wepresentives and senators?”
“Yes, and tomorrow we’ll visit several more.” “We’ll have the most powerful and influential members behind our legislation.”
“You should know that in addition to other methods of convincing you, we do possess certain information about each of you – photos, video, audio, or other documented evidence that you wouldn’t want exposed.”
“Impothible,” Fwank was bluffing.
“Do you remember those sex tapes that you participated in, Mr. Frank? I believe one was called ‘Fat Dorky Queens Gone Wild’ and another was ‘Foot Tapping Your Way to Airport Romance.’ Remember those? You were even listed in the credits for ‘Foot Tapping’ under your street name ‘Pinkie Winkie.’ Remember?”
“How did you,” …….. he stopped, whiter than a bleached KKK sheet, unsure what to do … or say.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“And Speaker Pelosi, lest you feel left out, we have video of you riding in the 2008 ‘Dykes on Bikes’ parade. You were disguised, but we can identify you by your tattoos, piercings, moles, and wrinkles. We also have a video evidence of a motel tryst between you and a well known millionaire and a deposit to your Bahamian bank on the following day. There’s a term for women who provide sex for money and another for a public official who sells influence, are you familiar with those terms, Madame Speaker?”
Silence.
“And we haven’t forgotten you, Senator Reid.” “We have records of your payments to a Ms. Juggs O’Plenty to care for a love-child born to that Las Vegas stripper in 2004. You thought that the court documents were sealed, but we have copies. We also know about the $250,000 payment to fund the education of little Dick O’Plenty.”
“This information can be quietly leaked to the press in a way that assures that the stories won’t be buried. We’ll release bits and pieces over several weeks so the story just won’t die, it will build – and it will ruin you, is that what you want?”
A reluctant but unanimous “NO” was the response.
“I’m glad we understand one another. As long as you follow my instructions, none of the evidence will be released. But make no mistake, if you falter, we’ll replace you with another member and you’ll suffer the consequences, do you understand?”
A reluctant but unanimous “YES” this time.
“Good. My associates will give you copies of the bill. You will allow no amendments and you’ll pass it with a voice vote. I expect that it will be unanimous among democrats.”
“What is the bill about – what will it do?” Bawney Fwank, not having been wedgied or Tasered, he was most in command of his facilities.
“The bill is called ‘The Honesty, Truth, and Fairness Act of 2009’. It will provide political cover for you while funding our programs. That’s all you need to know for now.”
Bawney Fwank felt a large arm grab him from behind and at the same time, a puff of vapor engulfed his face. Harry Reid’s thumb was forcibly pulled from his mouth, followed by a puff of gas and a similar fate befell Speaker Pelosi. In less than a minute, all three were unconscious and hooded.
Chapter Two
H.R.666 just appeared. There was no buzz preceding its introduction, no talk about it, as was commonly the case. No representatives were enlisting support, there was no preamble, no warning – as if by magic, all of a sudden, it was just there.
H.R.666, “The Honesty, Truth, and Fairness Act of 2009” was sponsored by Bwarney Fwank and had twenty-two co-sponsors. There was some question about why the bill was reported out of Rep. Fwank’s Financial Services Committee, but any sort of questioning was quickly silenced.
The only detail available to House members was a Committee Report summary. The Committee cited logistical problems for not having the full bill text available for study. President Obama’s new Portuguese Waterboard dog reportedly ate the bill. Consequently, a Secret Service agent was tasked with examining the dog’s “droppings” to be sure that the bill has been returned to its original state (dog poop).
The Report summarized (without any defining detail) the purpose and scope of the bill. Its purported goal was to give the American public a way to assess the accuracy of any political statement, whether issued by an individual or by a governmental body. A Department of Truth select committee would issue an accuracy report certifying a statement as being “True or False.” The certified statements would be available to the public via a toll-free telephone line or on the Internet at a website maintained by the department.
Once a statement was certified, it became a legally “true” or legally “false” statement, thus citizens could make an informed decision about whether to support an issue or vote for a candidate.
It would later come as no surprise that the first “CS” (Certifying Statement) issued by the committee would be one certifying that the select committee was infallible. Measures were in place (no details forthcoming on those measures) that precluded the Department of Truth from making an error. In other words, whatever the determination made by the select committee, it was gospel truth and would stand up in court.
There were no public hearings; only one closed-door hearing before it was reported out of committee. There were no amendments. The arm-twisting began immediately. There was to be minimal debate scheduled and Speaker Pelosi expected a quick voice vote no later than Thursday.
Wednesday night the bill was passed in closed session and immediately hand-carried to Senator Reid. The bill was introduced, referred to committee, and issued a number (S.70) in record time.
Two days later, the Senate passed the bill (via voice vote) and it was hand-carried to the White House. The President signed it the following afternoon and it was law.
The DNC did post the bill’s summary on the official party website, but only after it was signed by the president and it was (accidentally) reproduced only in Esperanto. They promised an English translation at some later date. So much for legislative “transparency.”
Bawney Fwank was named Gwand Exalted Chairman of the Select Committee and immediately embarked on a quest to find the Holy Gwail of politics - an honest, twuth-telling democwat.
Rep. Fwank explained, “A questionnaire went out to all democwats in Congress (Senators Snowe, Specter, and Collins were incwuded) in pweparation for naming the wemaining committee members. Those chosen would need exempwary character and honesty beyond weproach … like me.”
Pesky Truth has learned that a candidate’s character and honesty will be measured against a benchmark. That benchmark will be Speaker Nancy Pelosi, known as the “Mother Superior” of the House for her nun-like passion for the truth. Chaiman Fwank noted that naming The Speaker as the benchmark may set the bar too high as she is known as “possessing a spotless moral character,” similar to Mother Theresa.”
The next day, Chairman Fwank announced that Senator John Kerry (who served in Viet Nam) would be named Vice Chairman. “This is an honor befitting a person with impeccable qwedentials for twuth-telling. Senator Kerry was distinguished as a Viet Nam hewo with four Purple Heart commendations to his cwedit.”
Ed. Note: Conservative bloggers maintained that the most recent Purple Heart was bogus. It was issued retroactively for a large splinter in the Senator’s right buttock, resulting from a bizarre Denny’s restroom incident. Chairman Fwank vouched personally for the injury, having attended to Sen. Kerry’s buttocks himself.
A joint statement issued by Speaker Pelosi and Senate Leader Reid extolled the honesty and fairness shown by the two chairmen throughout their respective careers. “The truth could not be in better hands,” was the closing compliment in the glowing statement.
Some House members expressed concern that the Speaker’s health may be failing. She was seen to occasionally experience brief episodes of convulsions and expletive-laced mumbling. The peculiar behavior seemed to occur most often when she was in the vicinity of garage door openers or remote controls.
Over 300 questionnaires were returned. It was apparent that the remaining committee memberships were viewed as choice appointments.
Congressional Republicans pushed hard for a battery of tests to confirm the veracity of the committee members. Democrats quickly put down the measure, saying that the suggestion was politically-motivated and was too demeaning to be considered. “They’re as much as saying that democwats are untwuthful,” complained Chairman Fwank, “it’s widiculous.”
“Democrats don’t know the meaning of the word “prefabricate,” was the response from Vice Chairman Kerry (who served in Viet Nam). A Fox News reporter queried, “Don’t you mean prevaricate?” The Senator got huffy and was clearly angry at the suggestion that he made a mistake. “I was using the term in its siloquistic fluperfect form – something that you Fox News rabble simply wouldn’t understand.” “That’s not even a word,” could be heard from the reporter as he was promptly ushered out of the conference room. “What a moron,” were the reporter’s final words.
“Yo mama smells like Ghen-ghis (sic) Khan” yelled the Senator after the reporter.
CNN reported that Senator Kerry (who served in Viet Nam) sliced and diced the ignorant Fox reporter into pieces with his linguistic dexterity. “He really baited the kid - the Senator being a master baiter of words,” the CNN journalist added with obvious glee.
Over the next several days, various names began to leak out. There was a suspicion that many of the leaks were akin to throwing piles of warm manure against the wall to see if any stuck. Ed. Note: A more appropriate description of the Congressional democrats could hardly be found.
In the end, the remaining five members were announced at a press conference held in the Capitol Rotunda. President Obama pulled rank and wanted to appear Presidential by announcing the names himself.
To avoid embarrassment, his speechwriters had begun including Obama’s trademark “uhs” in his speeches, imbedding them wherever they seemed appropriate. This was easier for the president to follow since he became confused when forced to ad-lib without the aid of his teleprompter.
“Seekers of the uh truth rejoice, for today we begin our uh, transition from a policy of uh, lies and deceit practiced by the previous uh, administration and into the honest, forthright era of twuth, er, truth.”
“I said that my administration would be transparent and uh, you all now know that everyone can see right through my uh, policies.”
“I am very pleased to uh, announce the remaining five members of the uh, Truth Committee.” “Standing behind me are uh, Rep. Charlie Rangel, Senator Ted uh, Kennedy, Rep. John Murtha, Rep. uh, Barbara Lee and Rep. Henry uh, Waxman. We can all take comfort in the knowledge that they will serve the American people well as supreme judges of truth and honesty.”
In a moment of levity, the president asked the assembled group, “Did I speak the truth?” They gathered together in a mock huddle, paused for a moment, and then breaking the huddle, shouted “He spoke the truth!”
Historically, that became the first “true” statement ever issued by the Obama administration.
[Don't miss the next spine-tingling chapter, coming soon]